Choir & Organ (UK) Gives "Brilliant" VESPERS Five Stars

In the Orthodox communion, Vespers come at the beginning of the day, not its end, and that sense of opening and growing light forms an important aspect of Sheehan’s brilliant reimagining of Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil. The psalm settings are beautifully handled by a choir which hasn’t been around long but sounds every time like a pure emanation from the stones of St. Tikhon’s Monastery. The structure of vocal concertos is unusual, and the part for basso profundo, sung by Glenn Miller, is one of the very first in English. Sheehan’s music is glorious, but it’s the choir that makes it a special record, handling every part with both delicacy and strength. A luminous, uplifting record that works on many levels and offers a virtuosic approach to vocal colour.

Brian Morton

*****

(Full review print only)